Chapter 91 Can Fly? Let's see if you can still fly after throwing you to the ground!
In just the first round of combat, Kukui felt threatened.
In the entire Alola Region, only one or two trainers could rival his strength.
The rest of the trainers were no match for him. He had originally thought that even if he reached the Kanto Region, he wouldn't be at a disadvantage against the Elite Four trainers there.
Who would have thought that he would be defeated like this after just finding a gym?
That Toxapex—even Alola trainers couldn't raise it to that level. Kukui even doubted whether he was truly a native Alola trainer.
It was all too strange.
"Mr. Kukui, shall we continue the match?" Bai Yu asked calmly.
"Of course!" Kukui said through gritted teeth.
Compared to Bai Yu's nonchalant attitude, Kukui seemed more panicked.
"Lycanroc! Rock Slide!"
Kukui abandoned the idea of close-range attacks.
He didn't want his Pokémon to be poisoned. Poisoned Pokémon could still fight, but if it was poisoned, his opponent only needed to stall for a few rounds before he was certain to lose.
Lycanroc let out a howl, and several rocks appeared above Toxapex.
"Regeneration."
A white light enveloped Toxapex, gradually merging into its body.
The injuries Lycanroc had painstakingly inflicted were visibly healing as this light merged. Normal-
type Regeneration.
It could restore half of its health and heal its wounds in a short time.
The rocks fell from the sky, but Toxapex didn't move, completely ignoring their location.
The rocks covered Toxapex's entire body, and after all the rocks created by Rock Slide had fallen,
only a pile of rocks remained on the field.
Toxapex was inside the pile of rocks. A tentacle flicked away a rock, and Toxapex emerged, squinting, a strange smile on its face.
Rock Slide.
Lycanroc's physical attack was quite good, and combined with Rock Slide, it could cause considerable damage.
However, Toxapex's defenses were not weak, and combined with the Regeneration it had used earlier...
Enduring the damage from Rock Slide was far easier than expected.
Lycanroc, however, was a different story. Immediately after unleashing Rock Slide, its body emitted a deep purple poisonous light, its face contorted in pain as the toxin eroded its body.
"Regenerate, how disgusting."
Kukui had never witnessed such a battle before.
A single Regenerate technique neutralized its previous attack.
What kind of trainer could use such an overpowered move?
"Lycanroc! Rock Slide! I refuse to believe it!"
Lycanroc, enduring the pain, created numerous rocks again. This was its only means of attack; its previous Stone Slash attack was easily dodged by Toxapex.
"Venom Impact." In Bai Yu's eyes, Lycanroc was merely a dying ember.
Toxapex released an astonishing toxin, which spread gradually through its tentacles, corroding the entire arena and spreading outwards.
The Poison-type Venom Impact.
The effect is doubled when it hits while the target is poisoned.
"Not good, Lycanroc! Hold your breath!" Kukui's expression changed drastically.
"Under the poisoned state, this Lycanroc is doomed to defeat."
Bai Yu knew this better than anyone.
Even if it held its breath and avoided the venom's impact, the Lycanroc would eventually move, and once it did, it would fall into the poisoned state. The pain would cause it to breathe involuntarily, and it would still be affected by the attack.
Lycanroc stopped, holding its breath. A sudden, excruciating pain shot through its body. It had barely covered its nose with one foot for a second before releasing it.
The poisonous mist slowly spread, and Lycanroc, having inhaled a large gulp of the mist while holding its breath, had its poison levels worsened. It staggered and collapsed to the ground,
its face turning blue, clearly severely poisoned and unable to battle.
Seeing this, Kukui's face turned almost green.
His already dark complexion looked even stranger in this green.
"This… I… damn it!"
Kukui blurted out, unsure what to say.
After saying it, Kukui felt much better, at least less frustrated than before.
He had always thought Poison-type Pokémon were weak, but now it seemed they were truly powerful. Toxapex was
truly powerful! "Come back, Lycanroc!"
Kukui forced himself to calm down.
It was just a match; it wasn't worth getting angry over, especially since he had better options.
He refused to believe that poison could still work against Steel-type
Pokémon. "It's your turn, Magneton!" Kukui shouted
, trying to calm himself down after his earlier injury.
He'd finally made it to the Kanto Region to challenge the Kanto League; he couldn't just slink back like this.
The appearance of that familiar figure surprised Bai Yu.
Poison-type Pokémon naturally dreaded encounters with Steel-types, especially since Toxapex was a Poison/Water type. Against a Steel-type Pokémon like Magneton with its Electric-type combination, it was at a complete disadvantage. It
had no chance of winning.
If he had a Salazzle, he might be able to put up a fight.
After all, Salazzle had an incredible ability, Corrosion,
which could poison Steel-types and even Poison-types.
Of course, Crystalbloom also had this ability, but Bai Yu preferred its Poison Spikes ability.
It would automatically release Poison Spikes whenever it was hit by a contact move—
a natural spike-laying machine.
"Unfortunately, this is a Gym battle,"
Bai Yu frowned. Toxapex had almost no chance of winning in this situation.
However…
as a master of type reversal once said, there's no such thing as an impossible match.
Trust your Pokémon.
"Spikes!"
Don't panic when things get tough; throw a spike first.
As long as those spikes are on the field, there's a way to make it take damage.
Magneton, with its Levitate ability, doesn't take much Ground-type damage, but its opponent can throw it to the ground, forcing it to take Ground-type damage.
A certain trainer also used this method to force a Flying-type Pokémon to take Toxic Spikes damage.
Toxapex swayed, spikes embedding themselves into the ground.
Kukui, a future research scientist, naturally understands Pokémon moves and knows the effect of Spikes. But with his Magneton already on the field, could it possibly take Spikes?
"Magnemite, Thunderbolt!"
Kukui's only thought was to finish off the Toxapex.
In a two-on-two match, having already lost one Pokémon, the pressure of the subsequent battles is still quite high.
An arc of electricity emanated from Magneton's body, continuously converging.
The field was covered in rocks, and if those rocks were hit by a Thunderbolt and exploded, they would cause considerable damage to Toxapex. Kukui naturally thought of using the terrain advantage to launch an attack.
"Awesome!" Bai Yu suddenly thought of something fun.
A beam of light emanated from Toxapex, a pale yellow glow coalescing into a barrier that instantly enveloped its entire body.
As long as the power difference wasn't too great, blocking this type of defensive attack was incredibly easy.
Magneton unleashed its lightning, a hundred thousand volts, all striking the natural barrier.
It was perfectly blocked.
"I'll see how many times you can withstand this,"
Kukui knew better than anyone that such a move couldn't be used consecutively.
Each use reduced the thickness of the barrier.
Magneton's hundred thousand volts might have blocked the first time, but
the second time was uncertain.
"Billion Volts!"
Magneton unleashed another astonishing arc of electricity, a powerful bolt of lightning striking Toxapex.
One hundred thousand volts was enough.
Other Electric-type moves couldn't match the speed of a hundred thousand volts.
In this situation, using a hundred thousand volts also allowed them to clearly see Toxapex's position.
If the opponent used a move like Protect, they could seize the opportunity to attack immediately.
Kukui clenched his fists. He'd been careless at first, failing to dodge and intimidated by Toxapex's domineering appearance. Who knew it could be so disgusting?
"Shoot it down!"
Toxapex intended to conjure a rock, but seeing so many around, it didn't think twice and simply extended its tentacles, lashing out.
Rocks were slammed into Toxapex as it charged towards Magneton in the air. Thunderbolt shattered one rock, but countless more flew towards it from behind.
Bang!
Magneton kept changing its body shape, but unfortunately, it wasn't a Flying-type Pokémon, limiting its speed.
A rock grazed past Magneton, causing it to spin uncontrollably in the air. Just as it regained its footing, another rock struck it.
Kukui had also considered using the rocks, but Thunderbolt only hit one. The rest were protected by Toxapex's fortifications. Just as Kukui was about to continue his attack with rocks, Bai Yu used them instead.
Magneton fell down, and the sharp rocks on the ground pierced it, boosting its power. The Spikes
skill, previously thought to be useless,
now proved surprisingly effective.
"Spiked Spikes! This can still trigger Spikes? Really?"
Kukui was stunned. Spikes could still be triggered in this state.
However… it didn't seem to make sense. The spikes were all on the ground; if Magneton didn't eat them, who would…?
"Thanks anyway for the rocks you created earlier,"
Bai Yu said with a smile.
"Otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to bring your Magneton down." "
It's clearly not a Flying-type Pokémon, yet it can float in the air. What will Dodrio, with its Flying-type, think…? This is so unfair."
Bai Yu's words sounded so harsh to Kukui.
He couldn't find an excuse to refute it, after all, he was the one who created it.
If he hadn't used Rock Slide to create so many rocks earlier…
his Magneton might not have been brought down by Bai Yu's Toxapex.
The Toxapex, a top-tier Pokémon, is far stronger than a regular Toxapex; it can easily knock away heavy rocks.
Bai Yu had already guessed Professor Kukui's strength from the previous Lycanroc, estimating it to be around level 40, not too far off.
Yesterday, besides improving Gengar's strength, Bai Yu also improved Toxapex's.
While Toxapex's overall strength isn't as high as main Pokémon like Houndoom, it at least reached level 50, achieved by defeating many random NPCs.
Bai Yu's Dratini and Vulpix didn't play a single match yesterday.
He was focusing on training these two; it would be unreasonable if they couldn't beat Kukui today.
Kukui tried to hold on, but Magneton was forced to use Spikes, fully exploiting its 4x weakness to Ground.
Spikes usually don't deal much damage, but coincidentally, Magneton is 4x weak to Ground.
The original 1/8 damage reduction was amplified to terrifying levels.
Kukui, no matter how hard he tried to control Magneton, was powerless.
He ultimately lost the match, ending his first gym battle in the Kanto Region with a dismal record.
"Your strength is not bad. Normally, you should be able to get my badge,"
Bai Yu said, approaching Kukui and offering his own gym badge.
With Kukui's strength, participating in the Indigo League was a certainty.
"I will obtain this gym badge in my own way,"
Kukui said after a long silence, ultimately refusing the badge.
As an outstanding trainer, he naturally had his pride.
What right did he have to take the badge from a gym he hadn't even fought?
"Next time, it will be even harder for you to take this badge," Bai Yu said.
Bai Yu himself hadn't given away many of the Macha badges; he'd only given them away casually during a period when he was using Geodude to guard gyms.
Neither Gary nor Blue, these legendary trainers, had taken them from him.
Red had said something similar, but White Feather wouldn't give him the chance. If
he encountered Red, White Feather would definitely fight with all his might.
After all, there aren't many ways to test strength, and Red would definitely be able to detect the most accurate combat power.
"Gym Leader White Feather, what I'm more curious about is... how did you get that Toxapex?"
Compared to the Gym Badge, Kukui was more concerned about Toxapex.
A Totem-level Toxapex.
He'd been in Alola for so long and had never seen a Totem-level Pokémon.
A Poison-type Z-Crystal.
According to Kukui's understanding, the Alola Region should be governed by the Salazzle group.
"One day when I went out to buy something, an old man said I had extraordinary physique and gave me a Poké Ball. When I opened it, the Pokémon was actually a Toxapex!"
At first, Kukui thought it was a very serious story and was somewhat interested. But by the end, it seemed utterly absurd. How could anyone in this world give away Pokémon?
It was utter nonsense.
"Since Gym Leader Bai Yu is unwilling to speak, I will take my leave." Kukui said, leaving the Macha Gym.
Her mind was still replaying Bai Yu's earlier words.
What extraordinary talent! If he truly had extraordinary talent, he would have already entered the Pokémon Master Tournament.
How could he still be an unknown Gym Leader? I actually lost to a trainer like that.
So embarrassing.
Hmm.
Magneton, just like that, can create a four-fold weakness
to Ground. And Drill Rush, Earth Power, and other Ground-type moves, can all find ways to attack Pokémon in the air.
Flying-type Pokémon are sometimes even brought down by Ground-type moves.
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(End of Chapter)